The CHOW Blog

With Thanksgiving over, it’s the right time to head over to Claremont Village for a taste of Christmas: Burt & Rocky’s peppermint ice cream. It’s stabilizer free, meaning that it has that creamy, full-fat, traditional ice cream shop texture. It’s Barbie-doll pink, minty, and dotted with small chunks of peppermint candy that’s crispy in the center but has melted into a minty goo around the edges.

A small serving looks more like a double scoop compared with the average Westside gelato shop or even Rite Aid, and costs $2.20.

Also in the area is Dr. Bob’s “dipping store,” where you can taste the ice cream near its source. (Or you can just buy it at Gelsons or Bristol Farms.)

McConnell’s, made in Santa Barbara, has peppermint stick ice cream (without stabilizers). Short of going up to SB, it’s available at Whole Foods and Gelsons.

When you’ve got leftover mashed potatoes, the best way to revive them is to make them into mashed potato cakes. Add whatever herbs or flavorings sound good to you–hounds especially like chopped scallions and grated cheese. Some mix in an egg as a binder, but many find this is unnecessary, and can sometimes make the mixture too wet to shape easily. Drier mashed potatoes are easier to shape and pan fry, but potatoes rich in butter and cream can be dredged in seasoned flour and fried up well. Fry in olive oil or butter over medium heat until well browned on the bottom without moving, about 5-6 minutes, and flip to brown the other side. They’ll be crisp outside, soft and warm inside, and very satisfying.

The new hot ingredient in high-end cooking is pork belly; it’s a cut that’s a lovely combination of fat and lean. It’s the same cut that’s used for bacon, but it’s unsalted and fresh. Pork belly can be braised or slow roasted. It lends it self to rubs and Asian flavorings.

There’s lots of agreement about what makes for a good bowl of the traditional Vietnamese noodlesoup called pho (it’s pronounced “fuh”). Pho bo tai is the popular beef and noodle version, with raw beef added to cook in the hot broth.

The aroma should rise up and make you hungry. The broth should be steamy, but not so hot that it will instantly cook the beef through. (The best pho joints keep the thinly sliced beef cold, and add it in a clump, so it remains rare in the center.)

No one flavoring should dominate; charred ginger, star anise, and the various herbs, should combine into a flavorful whole. The broth should have a silky feel from the long cooking of bones and meat.

Each bowl will get broth, noodles that have some body, and a choice of meat. There’ll be a variety of garnishes from which to choose: bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, scallions, and lime to brighten the flavors. Add some of the sweet and hot sauces, to your taste.

Dave MP thinks the roast pork that comes in the roast pork wonton soup at Tweety Deli is the best in San Francisco. A generous serving of tasty, nicely sweet pork comes in a simple broth with large pieces of bok choi and overcooked, falling-apart wontons. For $4, though, the soup is worth it just for that lovely pork.

If you’re making homemade sliders or adorable miniature sandwiches for a party, you can buy mini buns from Neldam’s Bakery. mochimunchie made miniature pulled pork sandwiches with them for a party and the guests loved them.

Another option is to use dinner rolls. San Francisco Sourdough makes a good version, available in the bread aisle in local grocery stores (look for the orange label, not the green one), that won’t overpower the flavor of the sandwich you’re making. foodiegrl has successfully used them to make sliders with grass-fed beef and pickled onions.

The best rolls ever are made by Panorama, but they can be tough to get ahold of. Robert Lauriston notes that they sell at many farmers’ markets (check their web site for locations), and suggests you call ahead to see if they could bring you some when they are at your local market. foodiegrl notes that these are the rolls that Myth restaurant uses for their sliders. Just don’t get seduced by the beautifully glossy, eggy dinner rolls ordinarily on sale at the Panorama stand at the farmers’ markets–they have orange rind in them, probably not appropriate for most savory sandwich uses.

Robustly spiced steam-table curries and first-rate meats and breads from the tandoor are winning fans at Madina in Kensington. It’s the best of the many Pakistani places on the Coney Island Avenue strip, for gnosh’s money–not that a lot of money is required.

Chicken kababs, with a slight char and strong peppery kick, are around a buck apiece. Nan, baked to order, are pillowy at the edges, crisp and thin at the center, and finished off with a brushing of butter and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Vegetable dishes–okra, chickpeas, spinach with potato, etc.–deliver complex flavors and authentic heat. “Nobody could complain that they’re toning things down for the American palate,” says gnosh.

It’s mostly takeout, but a recent expansion created a room where diners can sit down.

Brooklyn’s Olympic Pita–celebrated for shwarma, falafel, and stellar fresh-baked flatbreads–has branched out in Manhattan. Sprightly vegetable salads, served as sides or generously stuffed into sandwiches, are another highlight. Despite the restaurant’s name, many fans prefer the thicker laffa bread to the pita.

The scramble system of ordering has flummoxed many newcomers since the place opened in November. “It is a bit chaotic. People had no idea where to go,” reports Miss Needle. So here’s the deal: Go to the cashier in the back on the right. Place your order and pay. Then return to the front and give your receipt to one of the counter guys.

In another welcome expansion, Midtown’s Taksim has opened a second restaurant in the East Village. A highly promising report from Pan raves about lentil balls, rice-and-herb-stuffed cabbage leaves, and hearty, slow-cooked lamb shank and eggplant in tomato sauce, among other things. “Go now,” he urges. “In a few months, the place will be hopping.”

On the Upper West Side, Vinnie’s is no more. It was just a neighborhood pizza joint, but it grabbed hound attention for a time with unexpected offerings like crustless, quiche-like zucchini pies.

Mexi-Casa has been serving up giant meals of consistently tasty Mexican-American food at paupers’ prices since the ‘60s (when no non-Latinos in OC could pronounce the word ta-que-ria), and recently moved to new digs, says GrindzHound.

Make sure to get the cheese chips, roasted in the oven to toasty, bubbly perfection. Al pastor and carnitas are especially good. A lot of people seem to like salsa roja with al pastor, but it makes a great combo with salsa verde–the combination of tomatillos, crunchy onions and the meat is a classic one. There’s also a sinus-clearning chile verde and beef tacos, the shell and beef deep-fried together for a meaty roasted flavor.

Combination lunch with two items, rice and beans is $3-4. Combination dinner (same) is $4-5.